Wall, floor, or ceiling for buildings.



No. 658,868. Patented Oct. 2, I900.

H. ROSENBAUM WALL, FLOOR, 0B CEILING FOR BUILDINGS;

(Application filed Feb. 6, 1899.)

(No Model.)

WITNESSES IIIMaIQJ A fro/5N5 U m: mums vzrzns c0. Puorqurua, WASHINGTON, n c.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY ROSENBAUM, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

WALL, FLOOR, OR CEILING FOR BUILDINGS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 658,868, dated October 2, 1900.

Application filed February 6, 1899 Serial No. 704,667. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY ROSENBAUM, a resident of Cincinnati, county of Hamilton, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Walls, Floors, or Ceilings for Buildings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in walls, floors, and ceilings of buildings; and the invention consists more especially in ceilings, walls, or floors composed of slabs of vitreous or other material secured in place without necessitating the use of cement and without liability of their being cracked or injured by expansion or contraction of the base, body, or back that supports them.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I is a view in perspective of a section of a floor, wall, or ceiling embodying my invention. Figs. II and III are views in perspective illustrating the base, body, or back that supports a facing. Fig. IV is an end elevation of one of the facing-forming slabs, and Fig. V is a back view of the same.

Referring to the drawings, b represents the base, body, or back of the wall, floor, or ceiling, and a designates the facing. The facing a is composed of slabs a, made, preferably,

of glass or other vitreous material. Each slab a upon its back side is provided with a dovetailed projection 01- that extends longitudinally of the slab and is capable of being slid endwise into a correspondingly-shaped slideway, recess, or channel 1), formed in the slab-supporting back bthat is, the slab-supporting back I) is provided at suitable intervals with parallel slideways,recesses,or channels 1), whose opposite side walls converge in the direction of the face of the engaging slabs and engage the undercut edges of the projections of the slabs. In other words, the back I) is provided at suitable intervals upon its forward side with dovetailed ridges 19 that engage the space or channel formed between the opposing forwardly-diverging edges of the dovetailed projections of contiguous or adjacent rows of the slabs, and the arrangement of parts is such that when the back and the slabs are assembled contiguous or adjacent rows of the slabs will abut each other centrally of one of the aforesaid dovetailed ridges of the back. The'back b is made, preferably, of wire or sheet metal, so that the dovetailed ridges thereof are hollow, and the opposite sides of the said ridges are separated, as at c, at their rear extremities and do not snugly engage the channel formed between contiguous or adjacent rows of slabs, so as to ing forwardly-converging walls of the slabreceiving channels has preferably comparatively little slant, and the hollow ridges of theback form springs, so that the slabs can be sprung into the slab-receiving channels 1) without necessitating'the introduction of the slabs endwise into the channels. In dotted lines, Fig. I, is shown a slab in position ready to be sprung into a slab-receiving channel b, and obviously a little lateral pressure inwardly upon the slab will accomplish the introduction of the slab into the channel.

What I claim is- 1. A wall, ceiling or floor comprising a back having parallel dovetailed ridges so as to form, between them, channels whose opposing side walls converge forwardly, and slabs occupying the channels and extending, respectively, across a channel and having the channel-engaging portions reduced in width in a forward direction and wider at the rear extremity than the forward and open side of the engaging channel.

2. A wall,ceiling or floor, comprisingabackforming metallic sheet bent so as to form parallel hollow dovetailed ridges, and facingforming slabs engaging the channels formed between the ridges and overlapping the outer or forward sides of the ridges.

Signed by me at Cleveland, Ohio, this 3d day of February, 1899.

HENRY ROSENBAUM. Witnesses:

O. H. DORER, A. H. PARRATT. 

